You can increase the value of your home up to 15 percent while reaping the benefits now.

Take a look outside and see how you can create a living investment.

If you spend 5 percent of the value of your home on landscaping, and do it wisely, you might get 150 percent or more of your money back. And sometimes that number can go even higher. If your home’s landscaping is on the low-end for the area and you’re putting it on par with your neighbors, you could be looking at around a 15 percent rise in value. This is big money that can add to your equity. This is a very easy and often over-looked investment.

Trees catch rainwater, some of which soaks into the ground, leaving less to overflow gutters and sewer drains. Tree canopies create cooling shade that can lower temperatures—and cooling bills—outside and inside the house. Deciduous trees let sunlight through to warm the house in winter. In one year, a single tree can provide up to $300 worth of benefits in air conditioning, pollution reduction, erosion, storm-water control, and wildlife shelter.